UGA officer drowns in lake

Posted: Wednesday, September 07, 2011

By Joe Johnson

A University of Georgia police officer drowned at a family gathering on Lake Sinclair on Labor Day, a Hancock County official said Tuesday.

Tyler Harris, 24, apparently had been drinking with other relatives during a holiday gathering at the family's lakeside home when he went under the water and never came back up, according to Ricky Brown, an investigator with the Hancock County Sheriff's Department.

"The family was just out enjoying the water and swimming off the dock when someone noticed that after Tyler jumped in, he hadn't surfaced for two to three minutes," Brown said.

Family members frantically searched the water, and after finding Harris took him to the shore where they tried CPR, according to Brown.

Someone called 911 at 1:16 a.m., but Tyler was dead by the time rescue workers got there, he said.

Harris and other relatives had gotten together for a Labor Day party at the home on Chickasaw Trail, in an unincorporated area of Hancock County, according to Brown.

Lake Sinclair, which covers more than 15,000 acres in Putnam, Baldwin and Hancock counties, is a man-made waterway owned by Georgia Power Co. and a popular boating and recreational area.

The preliminary investigation concluded Harris' death was accidental and appeared to be alcohol-related, but a routine autopsy will include toxicology tests, said John Bankhead, spokesman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Harris, who graduated from Gainesville State College with a degree in criminal justice, was hired by UGA police in February and recently completed the department's field training program, according to UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson.

He was assigned to the UGA police Patrol Division.

Harris was just beginning what appeared to be a promising career, Williamson said, and his death was a loss to his family and the community.

"He was one of those guys who always seemed to have a smile on his face, had a very good demeanor and wanted to be a police officer for all the right reasons," Williamson said.

"Some people get into police work for just the law enforcement side, but he seemed to really understand that you also had to have that compassionate side when it was needed," the police chief said.